A free economic order can only continue if and so long as the social life of the nation contains a maximum of freedom, of private initiative, and of foresight. Economic freedom and compulsory insurance are not compatible.
Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (1897–1977) was chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is notable for his leading role in the “German Miracle,” West Germany’s postwar economic recovery: Erhard’s decision, as economics director for the British and American occupation zones, to lift many price controls in 1948, despite opposition from both the social democratic opposition and Allied authorities, and his consistent advocacy of free markets, helped set West Germany on its phenomenal growth path — an economic recovery to rapid growth and widespread prosperity in the 1950s.
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In postwar Germany, one great statesman led the fight for freedom: Ludwig Erhard. He was deeply influenced by Wilhelm Röpke, and drew heavily on the case for free markets made by Ludwig von Mises. He received his PhD from Franz Oppenheimer, the great
